The present invention relates to a device for the conversion of centrifugal force to linear force and, therefore, linear motion. The device may be used to propel any common vehicle such as automobiles, rail cars, and marine, aviation and space carriers, and the like.
As enunciated by Sir Issac Newton, an object directed along a curved path will exert a force against the retraining or directing item. In other words, a force is produced by an object that constantly changes direction, since a change in speed or direction constitutes acceleration. As is well known, the centrifugal force is directly proportional to the mass of the object, or the radius of the circle through which the object moves, or the square of the angular velocity of the spinning object. Therefore, doubling the number of revolutions per minute of the object, will increase the centrifugal force by a factor of four (4).
Centrifugal force often expressed in the amount "times" the normal pull of gravity or "g's", may produce a surprisingly large force. For example, an object following a circular path having a radius of ten centimeters, at a rate of six hundred revolutions per minute, generates a centrifugal force which is 41 times gravity.
As can be surmised, a device that enables the transformation of the centrifugal force produced by a rotating body into a linear force, with only a modest efficiency, may be applied to any mode of vehicle travel.
In the past, various attempts have been put forth to reap the advantages of the powerful and easily generated centrifugal force by effecting such a transformation. For example, these apparatuses have rotated mass members and shifted the center of gravity relative to the axis of rotation. The result has been the development of a centrifugal force greater where the mass has shifted, than the remainder of the rotational cycle. In essence, the length of the radius of the arm has been changed. As is well known, the conservation of angular momentum would tend to correspondingly decrease the speed of the mass shifted.
As an example of a successful machine of this type, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,707, issued on Aug. 15, 1972, to applicant. However, machines of this type, although workable, are not efficient enough to produce the desired linear force to warrant general use.